Do the 10 Most Powerful Brands Use Content Marketing?

Let’s be honest, we all like to have a gander at Forbes list to find out which companies are making the most money, in the hope that we’ll get lots of tips and appear on it someday.

So what do these influential brands teach us about content marketing? Have they used content to rise to the top, or do they take a different approach?

I’ve taken a look at the top 10 most powerful brands – according to Forbes – to see if we can learn from the best…

#10 Louis Vuitton

So this is a brand that knows a thing or two about the finer things in life. With an average bag priced at around £2.5k, it’s safe to say they make quite a lot of money. But have they attracted such a popular following using Content Marketing?

Well as you’d expect, this is a very visual brand and they like to post inspirational images on their social platforms of their latest products. Something that does stand out though is their creative use of video. If you check out their YouTube page, you’ll find a wide range of ‘short films’, with their latest fashion campaign at the centre of each story. They’re really engaging, they make you want to click the share button and they get you excited for their next big fashion piece.

The Stats

Industry: Luxury

Brand Value: $28.4 billion

Brand Revenue: 9.4 billion

Here’s an example of a shareable video from Louis Vuitton:

#9 Samsung

Samsung is quite the mogul in the electronics world. From phones, TV’s and computers, to microwaves, LED lighting and cameras – they pretty much do everything. Quite like Louis Vuitton, they like to keep things very visual. Their twitter feed is filled with simple images showcasing their various products.

This is a brand that has really got to grips with how their customers like to use their products. One of the most effective methods of marketing is to strike an emotional chord with your audience and Samsung definitely achieve this. They also post a lot of great content on their blog including industry insights, innovative videos and charity project work.

The Stats

Industry: Technology

Brand Value: $29.5 billion

Brand Revenue: $181.0 billion

Here’s a tweet that Samsung posted, that relates back to a blog offering tips on how to keep the kids happy. Check out the full blog post here.

#8 Intel

Intel is another company that’s all about technology. If you aren’t quite sure what they do, they basically make computer processors and they’ve been around for nearly 50 years so they are pretty darn good at it! Do they make the most of content though?

Well yes, they do! The team at Intel post loads of great content daily on their blog iQ. Check it out and you’ll find insightful articles about the importance of technology, interviews with experts in the industry, really fun, share-worthy videos and trending content from their employees – to name but a few!

In fact, they even have a content strategist named Luke Kintigh who said this:

“We’ve learned successful content marketing is all about optimizing your distribution for the modern content ecosystem. iQ has evolved from a ‘brand as publisher’ to a ‘brand as publishing network”

The Stats

Industry: Technology

Brand Value: $30.9 billion

Brand Revenue: $53.3 billion

Here’s an example of a vine that Intel posted to tie in with the moon landing. To see it in full, click here.

#7 General Electric

This is a conglomerate company that dabble in various industries including energy, technology, finance, consumer and industrial. They are another brand on the list that like to use good quality content.

Their content comes in all various forms, with videos, blog articles, images and shareable tweets. More recently the brand decided to coincide with the anniversary of the moon landing and asked their followers to take a picture of how they would walk on the moon, and share it with them on Instagram.

#6 Mcdonalds

Now here’s a brand that’s been around for quite some time. The very first McDonald’s opened its doors in 1940 selling 15cent hamburgers – and the rest is history. This is a brand that’s all about having fun and their content definitely reflects that.

Check out any one of their social feeds and you’ll find a bunch of share worthy posts. They capture a lot of images with their products in fun places, and often tie it in with the latest event – like this one of the Tour de France…

They also like to create random videos on their Vine or Instagram page. If there’s one thing we can learn from McDonald’s, it’s that your content doesn’t have to be sales-orientated. In fact, it will probably help your brand if you start producing content that is share worthy, instead of an ad.

The Stats

Industry: Restaurants

Brand Value: $39.4 billion

Brand Revenue: $88.3 billion

#5 Google

Now here’s a brand that doesn’t need any introduction, I mean, when was the last time you used any other search engine? So Google is a brand that bases it’s entire existence on content, but with so much emphasis on other people creating content, do they need to create it for themselves?

You betcha they do! If you go and take a look at their Instagram page you’ll see that they like to showcase behind the scene snaps of what they get up to each day. They also post videos to celebrate different events, like Fathers day. And let’s not forget one of their most unique pieces of content – the Google Doodle!

This much loved tradition takes place on notable calendar days around the year, and sees the logo transformed into various animations to suit the day it’s celebrating. It keeps the audience engaged, it’s interactive and it makes you go on to Google just to see it. Job done!

#4 IBM

Not only does IBM produce a lot of content, but the quality of that content is incredible. As a technology company that brands itself as a ‘consulting corporation’, they have adopted an authoritative and professional tone to they stuff they produce. This is a different approach to many on the list, but it sets them apart as a leader in their field.

If you go and check out their blog you’ll find regular posts from executives offering insight into their industry. IBM also features case studies, well thought out social feeds and videos to demonstrate their continuous research into changing the world of technology for the better. What we can learn from IBM is that people will go to them to learn something, and that’s how their content works so well. If your brand is more professional than fun, you can still create content to suit your tone of voice.

The Stats

Industry: Technology

Brand Value: $50.7 billion

Brand Revenue: $104.5 billion

Here’s a tweet they posted of a rocket, inspiring students all over the world. To view the full tweet and video, click here.

#3 Coca-Cola

Have you ever heard of the Content2020 strategy? Basically Coca-cola loved the idea of content marketing so much, they now happily choose it over traditional advertising. The company dedicates their efforts to connect with people through the power of storytelling, by sourcing the help of artists, actors and their social fans.

Their website named: Coca-Cola Journey is where you can find all of their incredible content. It is here you’ll find a bunch of topics that range from celebrity news and music, to environmental issues and recipes! Coca-Cola always produces timely content for various events within the year and they do a great job of getting their followers involved in their campaigns.

The Stats

Industry: Beverages

Brand Value: $54.9 billion

Brand Revenue: $23.5 billion

Below is an image to their blog post about getting people to send in their names so they can appear on a bottle of coke. To view the full post, click here.

#2 Microsoft

Microsoft come in at an impressive #2 on the Forbes most powerful list, and they use their Content Marketing to show off their innovative side. Similar to IBM, this is a brand that offers content with expert knowledge and tips and their campaigns work really well.

Microsoft regularly update their blog with interviews from industry leaders, behind the scene videos, plus they show how Microsoft dominates many global events – like the World Cup. Another valuable point to note is that they continuously create infographics, to really help set them apart as an industry leader, rather than a follower.

The Stats

Industry: Technology

Brand Value: $56.7 billion

Brand Revenue: $77.8 billion

Here is an example of just one of the infographics that Microsoft create:

#1 Apple

Coming in at number 1 on the Forbes list is Apple. Did you guess it right? Apple truly is a giant in every sense of the word, but are they using content?

Surprisingly – the answer is no.

There are many arguments as to why this brand decides not to use a method that 9 out of 10 organizations are using. The general consensus is that 1. They like to be different and 2. They are so successful that they don’t need to.

The Stats

Industry: Technology

Brand Value: $104.3 billion

Brand Revenue: $156.5 billion

But are they missing out?

Yes! Apple may be incredibly successful, but they stand alone for being the ONLY company on the list that doesn’t use Content Marketing.

The truth is, this is a proven method that is undeniably successful and one that every company should be using.

If you want to increase your reach, improve your SEO, get more sales, and engage with your audience, then you need content.

I don’t have the time, money or resource to concentrate on content

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